Labels are an essential channel for identifying products and providing information. Although the label is small, its role cannot be ignored. The label on the product can not only regulate the product’s safety but also prevent counterfeiting and protect the rights and interests of consumers. Therefore, the label should be attached to the object as firmly as possible in order to convey the message successfully. Once it falls off, the effectiveness of the label will be lost, and people will not be able to receive information through the label.
Despite the passage of time and environmental changes, even high-quality labels with strong adhesives will eventually fall off. Especially in the cold winter, the stickiness of the label will become weaker as the temperature decreases. But we can still try to prolong the label bonding time through some methods. This article will focus on several reasons why labels are easy to fall off and the corresponding solutions, mainly from the aspects of label surface material, adhesive quality, the product itself, storage environment, and manufacturing process.
1. Label Surface Material
When we choose label materials, we should take into account the product area, material, storage environment, and other factors. If the label face stock is not suitable for the type and needs of the product, it will be difficult to exert its maximum benefit. Generally speaking, we will choose a softer label material to improve the ductility of the label. For example, soft self-adhesive materials such as PE and PVC can be used for soft plastic bottles, and PET and BOPP materials can be used for hard bottles.
2. Adhesive Quality
Improving the stickiness of labels is the most direct and effective way to prevent labels from falling off. Therefore, we need to choose the appropriate adhesive material according to different objects. The glue used for labels is usually water glue, hot glue, oil glue. These three types of glue have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Water glue uses water as a solvent, and the glue itself is non-flammable, non-toxic, odorless, and environmentally friendly. Disadvantages: long curing time, weak water resistance, poor initial viscosity, freezing at low temperature will cause paper to wrinkle or curl.
Hot glue is solid at normal temperature, and when heated and melted to a certain temperature, it becomes able to flow. Advantages: hot glue has high viscosity, can quickly produce bonding, and has good storage stability. Disadvantages: poor heat resistance, will decompose under continuous heating, high energy consumption.
Oil glue uses organic solvents as solvents, which has short curing time, less energy consumption, good water resistance, and higher initial bonding strength than water glue. Disadvantages: not environmentally friendly, the solvent is volatile, and the glue itself is flammable.
Therefore, selecting the appropriate glue type and material according to the needs of the product can effectively solve the problem of label peeling off.
3. Product Itself
The roughness and flatness of the surface of the object to be pasted also have a great influence on the labeling effect. If the surface of the product is rough, the label is prone to warping and falling off. In addition, if there are impurities such as oil, water droplets, and dust on the surface, it will also cause the label to become less sticky. This problem can be avoided by wiping the product clean before applying the label.
In addition, in order to better fit the product, the unfolded surface of the label should be a plane. If the surface of the label is curved in both directions after unrolling, the label will easily wrinkle after labeling. When labeling on the bottle body, it is necessary to avoid the spherical position as much as possible. If it is unavoidable, the bottom of the label can be made into an arc to avoid the deformation zone. Changing the shape of the label can not only avoid warping, but also increase the aesthetic feeling.
4. Storage Environment
Different label materials have parameters indicating the temperature range of use. The ambient temperature has a certain influence on the lifespan of the label. For example, if the storage temperature of the product is very low, it is easy to cause the glue to be frostbitten, and then the label paper is easy to lose its stickiness and fall off. Therefore, in order to maintain the fluidity of the glue, it is necessary to convert the labeled glue from the initial viscosity to the final viscosity in an environment above the minimum labeling temperature.
If you want to prolong the life of the label, the environment where the label is located should avoid direct sunlight as much as possible, and be protected from moisture, sun, high temperature and ultra-low temperature. The self-adhesive label paper stored separately should be sealed with moisture-proof paper or film packaging, the rolls should be stacked upright, and the sheets should be stored flat. After each use of the label, it should be sealed again to ensure better storage conditions.
5. Manufacturing Process
Different labeling processes will also affect the life of the label. One of the processes of label application is to apply proper pressure to the label through the labeling machine to ensure that the label fits perfectly with the labeling machine. For different labeling surfaces and requirements, we should choose different labeling machines, such as sponge wheels, pulleys, labeling plates, etc. An appropriate labeling pressure can not only meet the pressure-sensitive characteristics of the self-adhesive label but also discharge the air between the label and the surface to be pasted so that the label can be firmly and smoothly attached. In addition, when labeling, it is also necessary to pay attention to the cleanliness of the surface of the object to be pasted, so as to ensure the stickiness of the label and the smoothness after bonding.
It usually takes 24 hours for the stickiness of self-adhesive label materials to gradually reach the maximum value after labeling is completed. At this time, it is not advisable to immediately place the newly labeled product in an environment with a large temperature difference, even if the environment meets the temperature range of the self-adhesive material. Otherwise, the performance of glue viscosity will be affected. For example, film labels and containers will expand and contract due to temperature changes, while paper labels are more prone to the deformation of paper fibers due to moisture or loss of water. Therefore, it needs to be at a suitable ambient temperature during the labeling process and after the labeling is complete.
If you can’t judge the labeling method by yourself, you only need to provide us with a sample, and we can pass different tests to provide you with the best solution. According to your product characteristics and storage requirements, we will recommend the most optimal label, its application method and usage details for you.
